3341-3-17. Posthumous awarding of a graduate degree-graduate

(A) Policy statement and purpose

This policy describes criteria for posthumous awarding of a graduate degree.

(B) Policy

Bowling Green state university may confer graduate degrees posthumously upon students who are deceased prior to formal completion of all degree requirements of the programs being pursued. Final approval for awarding degrees posthumously shall rest with the board of trustees, which will act upon the recommendation of the president of Bowling Green state university.

(1) Guidelines for consideration

In general, to be considered for conferring of a graduate degree posthumously at Bowling Green state university, the student should have met the following conditions:

(a) At the time of death, the student was in good academic standing.

(b) At the time of death, the student was enrolled in the final year of the program (or equivalent). Graduate students completing a thesis or dissertation should have an approved proposal and should have commenced their research.

(2) Approval process

The process for identifying and considering candidates for the posthumous awarding of a degree is as follows:

(a) The dean of students, dean of the college, or the dean of the graduate college, upon learning of the death of a Bowling Green state university student, shall notify the relevant academic units.

(b) The school or departmental faculty, school director, or department chair, will determine if the student's overall record merits awarding the degree posthumously and will forward that recommendation to the college dean.

(c) The college dean will forward her/his recommendation to the graduate dean. The graduate dean will provide a recommendation to the provost.

(d) The provost will weigh all information relating to each case independently and will prepare a recommendation to the president, who will determine if it should be forwarded for board of trustees' consideration.

(3) Procedure upon approval

(a) The family of the deceased will be notified of the approval by the provost (or designate).

(b) The degree will be conferred at the next regularly scheduled commencement.

The posthumous nature of the award will be indicated on the diploma, the student's permanent record, and in the commencement program.

(4) Extraordinary circumstances

Cases that do not meet the above specified guidelines may be considered when extraordinary circumstances prevail. In such cases, the appropriate faculty, department head, school director, deans, and the provost will be consulted prior to a recommendation being prepared for board of trustees' consideration.

(5) Additional recognition of deceased students

Date: November 1st, 2013

Effective: 3/24/2015
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3345
Rule Amplifies: 3345